At 6 to 7 cm in length, with a wheat-colored tongue and distinctive markings, it represents the 47th recorded species of Diploderma in China.
Chinese researchers have formally identified a new species of mountain lizard from the upper Dadu River Valley. The upper Dadu River Valley lies in the Hengduan Mountains of western Sichuan Province, a rugged region of deep gorges and high peaks in southwestern China.
Beginning in 2018, the team carried out extensive surveys in the upper Dadu River region. During these expeditions, they discovered a lizard that displayed distinct traits not seen in other Diploderma species from the area.
Using both molecular biology techniques and detailed morphological comparisons, the scientists confirmed it was an undescribed species. They named it Diploderma bifluviale, after the site of its discovery at the meeting point of the Chuosijia and Jiaomuzu rivers.
Diploderma bifluviale is now recognized as the 47th Diploderma species in China. Members of this genus are found across East Asia and the northern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula.
Physical traits and habitat
With a length of 6-7 cm, D. bifluviale has many distinctive features, such as its wheat-colored tongue and unique coloration. Unlike its closest relatives, it lives in semi-arid shrublands in warm-dry valleys at elevations of 2,100 to 2,500 m, residing in arid shrublands with small leaves and scattered rock piles.
“This discovery highlights the understudied biodiversity of the upper Dadu River,” the researchers say in their paper, which was published in the open-access journal ZooKeys.
Reference: “A new species of Diploderma Hallowell, 1861 (Squamata, Agamidae) discovered in the upper Dadu River valley of the Hengduan Mountains, Sichuan, China” by Fengjing Liu, Yayong Wu, Jindong Zhang, Guang Yang, Shuo Liu, Xue Chen, Jiang Chang, Qiang Xie and Bo Cai, 3 September 2025, ZooKeys.
DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1251.153705
This work was supported by Survey and assessment of diversity and population status of amphibians and reptiles in typical mountain areas of Sichuan Province (grant no. 2024-ZX-ZCHTSQ-1100), Biological Resources Programme, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Position of Bioclassonomist of Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant no. CAS-TAX-24), and Foundation of Yunnan Key Laboratory of Biodiversity Information, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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